


Hair Trigger

by LouiseC



Series: Season Three Codas [4]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-23
Updated: 2013-01-23
Packaged: 2017-11-26 14:56:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/651565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouiseC/pseuds/LouiseC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the co-ed's comments give him a wakeup call, Steve decides that if he looks old enough to be someone's dad, he may as well act like one.</p><p>Coda for 312</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hair Trigger

**Author's Note:**

> Coda for 3x12

"Okay Princess, let's roll. You finished deciding which $2 on sale shampoo you're going to buy this week?" Danny tucks the paper bag under his arm. It contains his McGarrett Insanity induced headache cure-all (most people just call it Tylenol) and he wonders again whether he can claim it off his taxes. 

Danny frowns. "Steve?" Looking around the shoulder height aisles, he can't see any sign of his much taller partner. "Yo, McGarrett?"

A crash in a row two over draws his attention and Danny sneaks across, drawing his weapon. Just his luck for them to be in the drugstore when it's being robbed. Again.

He positions himself before rounding the shelves gun first. "5-0! Step away from the shelf and put down the…hairdye? What the hell?"

Steve's crouching, surrounded by small boxes. He looks looks up, startled, "Oh, hey Danno," he says innocently, sporting the same face he had when Danny'd found the taser stuck under the dashboard with guntape.

Danny holsters his gun and approaches cautiously, taking in the fallen display of Just for Men. "Babe?"

Steve scowls. "Not a word."

Danny mimes zipping his lips and motions towards the counter, silently asking Steve is he wants to make his purchase before they leave.

He looks considering for a moment before standing. "Nah."

"Okay, we done then?" Danny dangles the keys enticingly.

Steve snatches them as he stalks past. "Yup."

Danny cocks his head and chews on his lip as he takes a good look at the men on the boxes before turning and hurrying after Steve. "Just so you know, you're totally a medium brown."

* * * 

Danny actually lets it go. For a while. Well, three days but he seriously deserves a medal for making it that long. He only cracks in the end because he's jogging back to the car after dropping a forgotten workbook off for Grace and sees Steve bent awkwardly, prodding at his face in the wing mirror. Danny coughs loudly and Steve sits up straight. 

"I'm not gonna ask, Babe. But…" Danny sighs.

Steve scowls. "Thirty fucking six."

"And?"

"And they thought I was old enough to be that girl's dad."

"Again that's what you take issue with?"

"Danny." This time it's Steve who sighs.

"Well I hate to break it to you babe, but you kind of are."

"You mean _we_ are," Steve reminds him. "Give or take a couple of years either side."

Danny nods. "This is true. But…"

"Next thing, people will think we're old enough to be Eric's dads."

"I really don't know whether or not to be flattered or offended by the glaring elephant in that statement that you're repeatedly glossing over."

"Who cares about that part? We make 'so married' jokes all the time. And you _are_ a dad."

"What's this really about, Steve?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Danny kind of wants to bang his head on the dashboard for all this is going around in circles. "I'm trying to. You gotta help me out."

"You have Grace. You have… Things to show for your life. Things other than a few rows of ribbons and a military file that is more redacted than not."

"Oh." Danny's not quite sure how to proceed. 

Steve frowns. 

"So that's what's been making you a cranky ass this last week."

"I haven't been cranky!"

Danny raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe a little cranky."

"You zip cuffed a suspect to the picnic tables at Kamekona's shrimp truck and told him the guy wanted business advice!"

"That was ingenious!"

"That was worse than Gitmo! Look, Steve. I don't know what you need to hear to get you out of this funk."

"It's not a funk."

"This mood then. But you've gotta know… this isn't going to make people stop thinking we are peoples' dads… But you're so fucking hot and you've got absolutely nothing to worry about, okay? So your hair's going a little peppery at the temples and you've got a few wrinkles on your forehead. In this state, with its ridiculous, seasonal affective disorder inducing sunshine, that is hardly surprising. You just… You really, really don't have to worry about that stuff, okay?"

Steve considers this for a few moments. "You think I'm hot?"

"That's what you… Far out I want to kill whoever it was that taught you summarising skills. Look, you saw that photo of me that my darling delinquent nephew sent out."

"Uh, yeah."

"I was barely 22."

"So?"

"So my hairline? Pretty much the same. It started receding not long after I finished high school. I accepted a long time ago that some things, you just can't control."

"I, uh… Wasn't exactly looking at your hairline, Danno," Steve admits. 

Danny chokes a little. "You know, saying things like that won't stop the rumours either."

"You ever think that maybe I don't want them to stop?"

Danny opens his mouth but he can't make any sound come out. 

"Really?" Steve laughs. "All this time, and I had no idea that that's all it takes to make you go quiet."

"I… Did you just?"

Steve nods slowly. "I think 'I just' did."

"Okay then."

"Okay?"

"Yeah," Danny smiles. "Okay.

* * * 

A few hectic days later, after a string of nowhere-leads and a spectacular (read explosive) collar, 5-0 really needs some down time. Frustrated that the week hasn't given them a chance to talk about, let alone act on their quasi confessions in the car that afternoon, Steve makes a decision and stalks over to Danny's office. 

"I need you to come to the house tonight. Eric too. He can drive your car, right?"

Danny looks up from the pile of paperwork he is dreading. "Uh, sure I guess. I mean if he tries to sell it we can always ping the GPS tracker you hid in the lining of the trunk."

"Good, you ride home with me at six and tell him to come at quarter to seven."

Steve's gone before Danny can wrap his head around the strange request. 

* * * 

Danny dumps a sixpack on the table and flops down into the creaky wicker chair. "Okay, what's this about?"

Steve turns from staring at the ocean and sits, more gracefully than his partner had, opening a beer before offering one to Danny. "5-0 is swamped."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"It's not so much the cases, we've got a rhythm. We work and I don't want to mess with that."

"Good. We don't need extra members." Danny agrees. "Or babysitters."

Steve nods. "Right. But we can't keep spending our time doing filing, answering non case-related calls and that kind of thing. I've been thinking for a while that we need to have an administration assistant. Or an intern I guess. A college student who would be interested in the work we do."

"It would be mutually beneficial."

"Right. Danny?"

"Why do you have 'I accidentally used your priceless baseball card as a coaster and now it has a giant coffee ring on it' face?"

"That's a new one."

"I've been working on it," Danny shrugs. "I agree. An intern is a great idea. What's the problem?"

"I want to offer it to Eric. If it's okay with you."

"Ah."

"Ah? Ah good or ah bad?"

"Just… Ah. It's a lot of responsibility and he doesn't know the first thing about being responsible."

"But he wants to change, go to college. What would look better on an application than personal recommendations from the 5-0 task force."

"I'm his uncle. I can't exactly be writing him recommendations." 

"Not you, you idiot. Me."

"You'd do that?"

"Sure."

"And it won't look like favouritism?"

Steve shakes his head. "Not once he does the rigorous training that all the HPD civilian administration assistants go through. And a few other things I have in mind."

"Why is it that your 'other things' concern me more than the HPD training does? You've really thought about this, haven't you?"

Steve grins, nodding. "So, whatd'ya think."

"I think it's an amazing offer, Steve."

"Is that a yes?" he asks hopefully.

"If Eric wants to, then yeah, it's a yes. I can't see a problem."

"I, uh… I can see one," Steve frowns, reluctance in his tone belying his neutral expression.

"I was totally kidding about him stealing my car, Babe. He's learnt his lesson or I wouldn't even be considering this." Danny reaches across the table and rests a calming touch of hand on Steve's forearm.

Steve shakes his head. "Not that. I trust your word. And his for what it's worth."

"Then what?"

"This," Steve uses his free arm to indicate where they are still touching. "If this thing with us goes further, and god I hope it does…"

"When," Danny corrects," When this thing with us goes much, much further."

"Right, well, if we're working with your nephew…" Steve trails off.

"Oh. You're worried about him telling my family?"

Steve nods. "I don't want to keep secrets from Chin and Kono. Don't want to do anything that would make them doubt our commitment to their safety in the field I won't hide this from them."

"Babe, I don't think we could if we tried," Danny chuckles. "Eric already asked me if I was shtupping my hot boss."

"He asked _what_?"

"I told him it was none of his business."

"Good!"

"Then Kono asked him if he wanted in on the betting pool for which one of us came to our senses first."

"What?" Steve exclaims indignantly. "What did you say to that?"

"I put $50 on you, I maybe lied a little and told them that you'd already made your move, collected the winnings and threatened to fire the lot of them if they complained."

Steve grins proudly. "That's my underhanded Jersey boy," he eases his way out of the chair and closes the space between them, walking on his knees.

"Uh, what are you doing?" 

"This is me," Steve leans in and waggles his eyebrows, "Making my move." He presses a kiss to Danny's lips, feeling them soften their protests before letting out a groan. 

"Eric will be here in twenty minutes, Babe."

"My SEAL team once infiltrated a compound, rescued a dozen hostages, eliminated twice that many insurgents and got out again in under ten minutes," Steve mouths at Danny's neck between words.

"So?" Danny gasps.

"So, imagine what I can get done in a whole twenty minutes…"

* * *

Later, after a hilarious dinner full of stories from Danny's past and some of their more colourful cases, Eric leaves with a knowing look. After a few looks of their own and something heavy hanging in the air, Steve surged forwards and swept the two of them along, continuing the make out session he'd started earlier on the lawn. They'd waited so long and were both sure of themselves and each other so there was no hesitation from either when Danny suggested they lock up for the night 'if you know what I mean'. Breathless kisses and a fair amount of teasing later, and the two of them fumbled their way through a fair chunk of the, 'much much further' part.

After, they lie together on Steve's bed, fingers entangled between them. Danny's thumb rubs idle circles on the back of Steve's hand.

"This's nice," Steve turns his head on the pillow and smiles.

"Yeah, it is."

"I'm glad Eric wants to do the training and take the internship. It'll give us more time."

"So basically, you want to give my nephew a job to give us more time to get nefarious with each other?"

"Yup"

"That's creepy as fuck, babe."

"Only if he finds out!"

"Like he hasn't already worked out our ulterior motives. But, I still think it's an amazing thing you're doing."

Steve shifts leans up on his elbow so he can look at Danny properly. "It's nothing you're not doing too. Giving him a stable role-model figure, telling things to him straight. It's what he needs and I want to support you in this."

"Thanks. Not to sound ungrateful, or suspicious because I'm not either of those things, but I'm kinda wondering what's brought all this on."

"Well," Steve shrugs, "You said he is a lot like you were when you were his age. Getting into trouble and needing someone to straighten you out. Thing is, Danny, if I hadn't had the fear of the UCMJ to keep me in line, it'd probably have been me too."

Danny snorts. "Yeah right, I can't see you rebelling."

Steve raises an eyebrow. 

"Well, okay," Danny concedes. "I can but… You liked it, right? Being in the Navy, going to Annapolis, the whole… Government Ninja thing?"

"I did. But it didn't replace my family and…"

Danny, seeing that Steve's struggling to put his thoughts into words, reaches out and places a palm on Steve's cheek. "It's okay, Babe. I think I get it. And I'm even more glad that we've got to this place because it seems that there's so many points, for both of us, where things could have gone really differently."

"I agree," Steve nuzzles into Danny's hand and closes his eyes. Danny watches how his eyelashes brush his cheeks and vows to do whatever it takes to convince this beautiful man that he's making a difference to people. That he isn't too old to start. He realises that he'll happily spend the rest of his life doing it if that's what Steve needs.

* * * 

"Eric!"

Everyone in HQ looks up from what they are doing at Danny's bellow, watching as he comes storming out of his office. 

"Okay, where is the little delinquent? Less than a week. I told you this would happen, Steve!" 

"Uh, Danny?" Kono frowns. "What's happened?"

"This!" Danny waves his phone in the air before dropping it on the tech table, making Chin cringe. Danny's email program pops up and the team can see what's got their friend so riled up.

"It's um…" Steve swallows.

"$500! No fair, cuz, you wouldn't us go over $200 in our pool."

" _'So thanks, my brother,_ " Steve reads, " _'For finally getting your act together and helping me win the money that Ma and the cousins all bet.'_ " 

"The little weasel," Danny growls. "I'm gonna kick his ass."

" _'And I'm glad you've found someone who makes you happy,_ ' "Steve continues. " _'If the little bit of gossip I managed to draw out of Eric, my god that boy has clammed up when it comes to you, is true, I really have to meet this Commander of yours. Don't suppose he has a brother?_ ' Well, not that I know of, sorry," Steve grins. 

"Well okay, that bit doesn't sound so bad," Danny admits. 

"And you can't really be mad. I warned you before we made him the offer, you said it would be fine."

"I did."

"So let's go and get some lunch, let you cool down before Eric comes back because he hasn't done anything wrong and I'm not going to let you yell at him."

"Fine," Danny huffs. "But I'm driving."

"Oh yeah?" Steve lunges for the keys but Danny dances out of the way. "You think I can't get those off you?'

"You'll have to catch me first, old man!" Danny grins, spins on the spot and sprints for the exit.


End file.
